I love John Abraham, he is an absolute hunk. But getting to see him talking about how he takes care of his skin ,i.e make/keep it fair,left me a bit perplexed…whatever happened to the Tall Dark Handsome men !! Being an avid reader of romances like Mills & Boons,and being one who looks upon GONE WITH THE WIND  as the bible of romance, its difficult to accept this strange male obsession with fair skin. Those heroes in the romances,especially in the books of 80s & 90s and GWTW, which came way before M&B s,all the heroes , even when they belong to the Caucasian whites, are portrayed as having a dark demeanor. Rhett Butler in GWTW is dark compared to his woman.

Back then, darkness was synonymous to masculinity. A virile, masculine male inadvertently had a swarthy or something mysterious about him that both excites and frightens the maidens. He is like that lone dark horse which gallops in the open fields, almost impossible to tame and too hard to possess  but too exciting to let go.

Times before 80′s & 90′s, saw dark men completely taken into cruelty as portrayed in literature. The famous Shylock of Shakespeare is dark complexioned, something that indicates his evil nature. The blacks were often portrayed as potential rapists and men fuming with violence, all because of their skin color. But this portrayal also suggests the insecurity that a white man faced when compared himself to a black. The blacks look more virile & masculine compared to a Caucasian white and hence a white dominated world, portrayed blacks hence.

But coming down time,the potential of the evil/darkness to excite and attract was better understood. Hence heroes like Rhett Butler, Heathcliff… came into being. All dark and possibly unconquerable, but in reality they are waiting for their right woman to redeem them. Now that makes it all the more exciting, as Beatles say ” All you need is love ” !

I stick to the paradigm of darkness and virility which also accentuates the femininity and fragility of the woman. And this shift in concepts all boils down to market and our God-given dusky skins. So with all the women chasing fair skin, it leaves only the men. Now ,why should they be spared from the rat-race!

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